It Comes at Night is a slow-burn horror film about fear turning men into monsters, and it mostly earns that tagline. Trey Edward Shults directs his own script, and the result is a tense, claustrophobic study of trust between two families in a world overrun by a deadly plague.
Paul, played by Joel Edgerton, has built a sheltered life with his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Their peace is shattered when a desperate stranger named Will (Christopher Abbott) shows up at their door with his wife Kim (Riley Keough) and young son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner).
Trailer, via A24.
The Setup
The film opens with Paul’s father-in-law Bud contracting the disease. The family euthanises him and burns his body, a grim ritual that sets the tone early. Then comes the stranger, tied to a tree with a bag over his head while Paul waits to see if he carries the sickness.
Will explains he was searching for water for his family. He offers food in exchange, and Sarah pushes Paul to let them in. The families agree on rules: the door stays locked, and only Paul or Sarah hold the key.
Trust and Betrayal
The tension rises slowly. Travis’s dog Stanley starts barking at an unseen presence, chasing it into the woods. Travis insists he heard something out there. Later, Andrew is found sleeping in Bud’s old room, suffering from a nightmare, with the front door wide open.
The families check the house and find Stanley bleeding and badly ill. They euthanise him and burn the dog. Travis admits the door was open. Sarah wonders if Andrew opened it while sleepwalking.
Paul grows increasingly suspicious of Will, and the film builds toward a confrontation that feels inevitable.
What Works
- The performances carry the weight. Edgerton plays Paul as a man who has lost patience with the world, while Abbott’s Will is desperate enough to feel real danger.
- The pacing is deliberate. Shults lets scenes breathe, which makes the sudden violence hit harder when it finally arrives.
- The isolation is total. The film rarely leaves the house, and the woods outside remain a constant, unknown threat.
Where It Falls Short
The film leans heavily on dread rather than actual scares. Some scenes stretch past their welcome, and the middle section drags before the climax picks up speed.
The ending lands with a sharp twist, but it feels earned rather than forced. It rewards viewers who have stuck with the slow build.
Key Facts
- Director: Trey Edward Shults
- Writer: Trey Edward Shults
- Stars: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Riley Keough
- Runtime: 91 minutes
- Release: June 9, 2017, by A24
- Score: 7.8/10
It Comes at Night is a solid, often tense entry in the survival-horror genre. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to. Shults knows how to hold an audience in suspense, and the film’s final act delivers on the promise of its setup.
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